Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s DegreeLCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
Family of Eagles: FGCU volleyball star graduates with Master’s Degree Saturday marked a special day for Florida Gulf Coast University as more than 1,800 students graduated. For one student-athlete, graduating from FGCU runs in the family.
lehigh acres LCSO: Man shot by car owner protecting property The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Lehigh Acres early Saturday morning.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County residents wait hours for D-SNAP assistance The supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is at the Lee Civic Center all weekend, ready to help southwest Florida.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA First eaglet hatches in famous SWFL eagle nest Welcome E24! The third eaglet from the nest of M15 and F23 has hatched according to the Southwest Florida eagle camera.
Rock for Equality: SWFL non-profit hosts benefit concert for Palestine A Southwest Florida non-profit hosted a benefit concert on Friday night to help with humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Warm, breezy Saturday with a few showers possible The Weather Authority is forecasting a breezy, warm weekend in store across Southwest Florida, with the chance of a few showers, particularly on Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Active investigation underway in South Cape Coral Cape Coral police are investigating at a home on Southwest 49th Terrace in South Cape Coral early Saturday morning.
16 transported after 2 airboats crash in Collier County According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, two airboats crashed south of U.S. 41 east between mile markers 74 and 75, leaving well over a dozen people injured.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New bill filed: Auto shop and law enforcement must work together to solve hit-and-run crashes There could be new detectives on the block, located in your nearest auto shop. A new state bill aims at trying to stop hit-and-run drivers from getting away.
CAPE CORAL New leash on life; Cape Coral shelter dog beats cancer with drug being tested for humans A drug now being studied in human trials to kill cancerous tumors, is already approved and helping animals.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral planning a new interchange with I-75 The city of Cape Coral is in the early stages of planning a new interchange with I-75, an idea that has been discussed for more than a decade.
Tracking invasive species after hurricanes Hurricanes Helene and Milton didn’t just bring wind and rain, they brought new threats to southwest Florida’s ecosystem.
PUNTA GORDA Woman in Punta Gorda shooting charged with 2nd degree murder A woman in a homicide investigation on Nasturtium Drive in Punta Gorda has been charged with 2nd-degree murder.
Lee County mother continuing fight to get children a bus stop The school district already told her she lives too close to the school to qualify for a bus route but she has not given up.
NORTH NAPLES Grant Thornton Invitational returns to Tiburon Golf Club Stars on the PGA and LPGA Tours are back in Southwest Florida for the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club.
MGN ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Two Florida counties are testing a program to treat incarcerated heroin users. Duval and Orange counties are testing the project that links jail inmates to addiction counseling, treatment after release from jail and therapy that includes a monthly injection of a drug that blocks the euphoric effects of heroin, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel. The drug is called Vivitrol, which the county’s director of health services said greatly improves the odds that a heroin user will stay clean. “If you try to shoot up, you won’t feel anything,” said Christopher Hunter, an emergency room doctor. Orange County’s chief of corrections, Cornita Riley, says the drug is effective up to 30 days but costs as much as $1,000 a shot. Vivitrol’s maker, Alkermes, is providing its drug at a discount. “We had to do something,” said Riley, who served on a task force convened last summer by Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. According to the Sentinel, Orange County is paying for the project with state funding. In Orange County, 144 jail inmates volunteered for the program. Similar programs are running in jails in more than a dozen states, including California, Ohio and New York. The Orange County Heroin Task Force recommended the program for the jail. Last year, the county had the state’s highest number of deaths caused by heroin. Inmate Jeremy Pries, 25, said the pilot program is his “best shot” at dealing with his heroin use, after two overdoses in the last two years. He said he turned to heroin after becoming addicted to prescription painkillers following a 2008 car crash. “Every time I’ve been locked up, it’s been because of drug use. But quitting, it’s hard on your own,” said Pries, who was jailed June 4 and awaits trial for grand theft and burglary charges. Pries was selected for the program after withdrawing from heroin and demonstrating a willingness to stay off drugs. “Often times, you just have to get people in the right place and at the right time to offer them a lifeline,” Riley said. Medical examiners blamed heroin for 85 deaths in Orange County in 2015 – the highest number of heroin deaths in the state. Heroin-related arrests also have spiked the past five years, rising from fewer than 100 in 2010 to more than 800 last year. “If we simply reduce the normal cycle of recidivism we see, we’ve made an impact,” Riley said. “It’s not inexpensive to incarcerate people.” A Massachusetts jail that launched a program featuring Vivitrol four years ago reported the recidivism rate among those who received the drug at about 9 percent, compared with a national re-arrest rate of 77 percent for drug offenders within five years of release, according to federal statistics.